Editorial: Delays could let in wrong splash

Our Tauranga City councillors are considering spending $900,000 on a hydro slide at Baywave.

Good to know they like a big splash because their protracted delays on installing a tsunami warning system mean that if an earthquake offshore does send a big wave our way, there is no quick way of warning all Bay residents, including the elderly, children and their pets.

Years into the council's review of the best system to install, there is still public debate over whether to opt for an electronic hooter or a modern version of the World War II air raid siren.

Could the answer possibly lie in the results of this month's test of an electronic system at Papamoa? Residents were informed in circulars that testing by the city council would begin before 9am and continue in short bursts of less than 30 seconds until 1.30pm, and were eagerly awaiting.

However, Papamoa Progressive Association chairman Steve Morris told the Bay of Plenty Times that he was in Papamoa library during the test on June 1 and said neither he nor the library staff heard anything.

His wife did not hear the siren either and she was just outside the area of loudest noise. One can perhaps see the reason in a delay in decision-making when, despite this deafening silence, the council is still awaiting a report from an acoustics expert.

Another concerning revelation of bureaucracy gone mad in the siren saga is in the comments we reported from a Wellington design engineer Gary Lewis. He claims the electronic hooter systems are doomed to failure as they could never be entirely successful at long distances. Mr Lewis believes the air raid type siren is more effective, with a sound distance from 8km to 32km, meaning just six sirens would be needed for the city, also drastically reducing costs.

However Mr Lewis's company's tender for the tsunami installation contract was rejected. The reason? He did not tender on a total design, consent and build package. As Mr Lewis rightly comments - by demanding resource management installation requirements, the council is locking out potentially better life-saving equipment.

Last year more than 19,000 died in the devastating Japan tsunami.

In 2004, about 220,000 people lost their lives in the Boxing Day tsunami.

More than eight years after the Boxing Day disaster, our council is still debating warning systems. Other councils throughout New Zealand have not only installed systems already, but they have planned for evacuation signage to educate locals and visitors.

Fixed sirens, along with other measures such as portable plug-in devices and text messaging, are essential to the coast's tsunami warning system.

We are talking about tens of thousands of Bay people's lives here.

It is important to assess the best system our money can buy, but let us not die wondering.